Vacuum Sealing

One thing I have found... good bags = good results, cheap bags were garbage. The good bags were thicker, the cheap bags felt almost like a ziplock.

 

One of the greatest things I bought to go with my vacuum sealer was the jar attachments (one for regular, one for wide-mouth). Put whatever you want in a glass jar, add a lid, stick it on the sealer and it seals the jar. Love it!
You can put sharp, irregular items in a jar that may puncture regular bags.

Here's a link to the wide-mouth one. We found ours at Bass Pro Shops.

http://www.foodsaver.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productid=2496

 

Dean,
I don't have a concrete link to send you to that discusses canning vs vacuum. I would think that storage times would be similar as long as the vacuum seal is maintained. I tend to think of vacuum sealing for dry goods and canning for fruits/veggies/meats. I do vacuum my meats before freezing.

Here is a link that does have a chart of fresh/fridge/freezer storage times. You might find some useful tidbits in there....

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/foods/348-960/348-960.html

Net

 

Handi-Vac by Reynolds

There is a new tool out in the baggie section of the grocery. Handi-Vac by Reynolds.
If you want something portable and bags can be opened and reused. It is battery operated. I just used it to freeze 2 bushels of apples. Works great. This will also go in my emergency stash of things to take with me or for use with no electricity handy.
I also have the vacuum sealer and the jars and love them. I use them for more long term storage. If I buy a lot of meat at one time or dry goods like you are doing Dean.

 

We buy burgers pre-made in bulk and chicken breasts and I separate them by size of meal and seal and freeze them. I have had chicken for about a year now and still no sign of freezer burn. I just put the bag in cool water in the sink a couple hours before cooking to thaw. Or I open the bag and pour a marinade over it. I put it in a bowl in fridge to thaw and soak up the flavor(this is usually night before or morning of).

 

Just last week I opened a jar of pecan halves and a jar of walnut halves that I vacuum sealed and put in my freezer in Dec 1994. Much to my surprise, they taste just fine and the texture is perfectly normal. I was expecting them to taste a bit stale, but they don't.

-

 

If you're still alive tomorrow then Hooray! (jk)

 

Ode to the seal a meal

Hi I would like to throw in my 1 1/2 cents I have been using vacuum sealers for years . We bought our first Dazey seal in the early 80s could not afford a Tillia but soon learned their usefulness so after wearing it out we upgraded to the Tillia and have used them ever since Tilla is now sold under the FoodSaver name. I would say make sure you get one with the hose attachment so you can do Jars.. this means the special jars or buy the lids that fit many store bought jars their are many choices also what I find being the most important feature is being able to stop the vacuum and still seal the bag for instance you would like to have a liquid like pure maple syrup in a bag if you can not control the vacuum the liquid will be sucked out of the bag
I have used the vacuums for many things from storage to transport.Water proofing bug proofing preserving. Warning this is not a solve all for not having a refrigerator or freezer.. but will solve things like potency sterility of meds and and 1st aid supplies. Also you can boil some of the bags.. well good luck almost endless uses

 

I have a Food Saver and have used it for years. The trick with powdered foods is to keep them in the bag they came in. I have had more problems with flour gumming it up than anything else. I also blew the motor on mine this summer vacuum sealing my spinach, as I left too much water in and it leaked into the machine (I was not paying attention like I should). Many foods, like the spinach, is better off being frozen aahead of time, then put in a bag and sealed.
The biggest trick I've learned...or should I say the biggest mistake I've learned to avoid...is to label everything well and include the date!